Windsor Forest’s Jason Roundtree has resigned as the Knights football coach.

Roundtree, who was the head coach for three seasons, said he is stepping down to spend more time with his family. He plans to stay on at Windsor Forest as a teacher and track and field coach and said he may continue as an assistant football coach.

“I just got married in December and I’ve been missing a lot of time with my family,” said the 38-year-old Groves High graduate. “My dad is in his 70s and he has been diagnosed with leukemia. Our family has a place on the Ogeechee River, and every time the weather is nice I think I should be out there fishing with him.

“And I’ve got a 9-year-old little girl, and I’ve been missing out a lot on her growing up,” Roundtree said. “I think of that song by Alabama ‘In Pictures’ and want to be able to watch her grow up.”

Roundtree was a defensive back and kicker in his high school days at Groves, but his best sport was baseball. As a pitcher, he earned a baseball scholarship to Savannah State, where he became the first Tiger to throw a no-hitter in school history.

Roundtree had stints coaching football at Bible Baptist and Groves before coming to Windsor Forest, where he was the defensive coordinator for two seasons before taking over as head coach in 2010.

The Knights reached the Class AAAAA playoffs the first two years under Roundtree, finishing with a 6-5 record in 2010 and a 6-4-1 mark in 2011. This year Windsor Forest finished 1-9.

“It’s hard to step away because I’ve had a great relationship with my players, coaching staff and the administration here at Windsor Forest,” Roundtree said. “I’ve been really blessed in this job. I’ve really enjoyed it. I told the kids I was stepping down last week.”

Roundtree said his defensive coordinator, Joel Lecoeuvre, will also step down as a football coach to concentrate on his job as the Knight basketball coach. Roundtree said he isn’t sure who will be hired to replace him and that the school is advertising for the opening.

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After a lengthy conversation with Coach Roundtree, I can tell you that his decision had NOTHING to do with the dismal 1-9 season of 2012, and EVERYTHING to do with his family. I totally respect his decision, and I hope that others will as well. He was not forced out as some pundants may assume. I will say that serious health issues within his family and time spent away from them were the determining factors in his decision. I am grateful for the time and sacrifice that Coach Roundtree gave to our program as the Defensive Coordinator under Former Head Coach Mike Martin in 2008 and 2009, and as Head Coach over the past 3 seasons. Despite the obstacles our schools faced financially, and with playing up involuntarily in classification, Coach Roundtree and his staff managed to put us in the AAAAA postseason playoffs 4 consecutive seasons out of the 5 seasons that he coached here. Although the 2012 season proved to be a letdown, it was a learning experience for our players and for our coaches. Anyone who has coached youngsters, especially at the highschool level, knows how demanding it is. Deciding to step away from coaching for a while is nothing new, and can pay dividends. Former Groves Head Football Coach Karl Demasi stepped away from what was a simularly solid program at Groves back in 2006 to spend more time with his family. It proved to be the right move for him, as it afforded him time to follow his son Russell through his final years in highschool, and through his college career as a backup QB at Georgia Southern University. Russell graduates this spring from GSU. Although the circumstances are somewhat different in Coach Roundtree's case, I hope and pray that the results will be as rewarding. Defensive Coordinator Joel Lacoeuvre did a great job with the Knights defense over the 5 years that he has been here. That defense remained one of the better ones in Region 3AAAAA until last season. Being both Head Basketball Coach and DC for the football team has been a challenge, taking up lots of Lacoeuvre's time from summer football drills through the end of basketball season in March. So his decision to choose between the two is understandable. The Knight basketball team right now is in the middle of the pack in Region 3AAAAA with a 3-3 region record under Coach Lacoeuvre. I appreciate and thank both of these coaches for their time and dedication, and for all that they have meant to the Windsor Forest Knights Football Program, and to the school community.